I buy red peppers by the bagful at our local Costco and roast them up all the time just to have in the fridge. They’re great with a salad or to add to a recipe while cooking.
Roasted Peppers are so simple to make, you might find yourself making these once a month instead of buying the jarred versions.
You can roast the peppers on an outdoor grill or broil them in the oven. You don’t want to completely burn the peppers. What you’re really doing here is roasting off the skin which will blacken and blister, you’re looking for the entire pepper to blister which makes it easy to peel the skin.
Prep, Cook, Servings
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 40 min including rest.
Servings: 12
Ingredients
6 Red Peppers Paper Bag big enough to hold the 6 peppers (or a pan with a tight fitting lid) 1 head of garlic, minced Fresh Basil, chopped Pepper to taste Airtight container approx 8” x 3” and 3” deep (like Tupperware) Optional: 1 lb of Fresh Mozzarella, cubed approx. 1/2 – 3/4”
Instructions
You can prepare these either on the grill or in your oven, I prefer the grill but both methods work, here’s the grill method followed by the oven method.
Set your grill to medium heat. Set the whole peppers on the grill. Turn the peppers as needed until they are just about completely blacked on all sides. Should take from 10 – 20 minutes. Put the peppers into a paper bag or pan with a lid and seal, let rest at least 10 minutes.
-- OR --
Place a rack approx. 6 inches from the top of the oven, set oven to Broil. Place the whole peppers on a baking sheet and place under the broiler, be sure to leave the oven door open a crack. Turn the peppers as needed until they are just about completely blacked on all sides. Should take from 10 – 20 minutes. Put the peppers into a paper bag or pan with a lid and seal, let rest at least 10 minutes.
Peel the skin off the peppers and discard. Slice the peppers open and discard the seeds and the stem. Slice the peppers vertically in 1/4 – 1/2” strips.
Place a layer of pepper strips in the bottom of the container Sprinkle basil, garlic, and fresh grated pepper on the peppers
Repeat this process until all of the peppers and ingredients are used, should be 3 – 4 layers depending on the size of the container.
Either serve immediately or place the container in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to meld even more.
Remove from the refrigerator and place onto a serving plate to serve.
Notes
Good tongs are essential to working with a grill and honestly just to have in the kitchen. I’ve gone through many MANY cheap and terrible tongs through the years until I found the OXO brand. Yeah, they cost a little more, but these are really well made, they last for years and they have the nice silicone grip. I literally have 8 of these in my kitchen, various sizes and some with nylon heads like these which are awesome for non-stick cookware.
You don’t want the peppers to completely burn. Yes they will blacken, but you’re watching both for the char and blistering on the skin. When the entire pepper is blistered well, it’s ready to come off the heat.
